Better Than Me
by Saya Moonshadow
Summary: I told myself I won't miss you...but I remembered what it feels like beside you... Tahu and Gali's latest argument escalates to the point of severe depression. TahuGali oneshot.


**INSPIRATION STRIKES AGAIN! While working on chapter three of _Heir to the Flame_, as well as some other non-Bionicle stories I have (and an English report, and my frickin' precal homework), my brother Zanda Waffle 07 sent me a song called "Better Than Me" by Hinder. It reminded me of a scene I had in my head a while ago for Tahu and Gali. So before the plot bunnies escaped, I started writing. Hope you enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't ask me. Cuz guess what? I OWN NOTHING! AUGH!**

**Better Than Me  
By: Saya Moonshadow**

_I think you can do much better than me   
After all the lies I made you believe   
Guilt kicks in and I start to see   
The edge of the bed   
Where your nightgown used to be..._

He kicked the door to his hut open with a crash, reveling shortly in the bang it produced against the wall as it did so. It sure made him feel a bit better. This night couldn't have been any worse. He couldn't believe what he had done...and what he had lost.

They had argued again, just like they always did. It had started out as their usual, "I'm right, you're wrong, so just shut up already and listen to me!" argument, but then it had escalated to fever pitch. He could admit that that was largely due to him. The way she described that...that...that TOA, it made him absolutely sick. She wasn't supposed to think of anyone but HIM that way, but there she was, describing Kopaka Nuva as if he were some kind of Great Being!

And so he had retaliated. Started describing Toa Hahli in that way as well. Too bad there were no other girls on their team. Or maybe that was a good thing. Gali and Hahli saw very little of each other these days, as Hahli was still on Voya Nui with Jaller and the other Toa Inika. He had made it sound like he really, really liked her. But, as usual, Gali had been too angry with him to notice the adjectives he used were nothing like Hahli at all. Beautiful, smart, wise, kind, graceful...OK, maybe Hahli was graceful and smart, but she was nowhere as beautiful as Gali. Not even close to that level.

But Gali still hadn't seen that he had been describing HER, Hahli's name was just a cover up he needed to use. She had gotten practically hysterical, a strange thing for her, and started screaming at him that she didn't care he was in love with Hahli, she just hated him more than anything.

It had broken his heart, and he had retaliated by shouting back. The things he had said had just poured out of his mouth before he could stop them.

_I told myself I won't miss you   
But I remembered   
What it feels like beside you..._

He slammed a fist down on the wall. Mata Nui! He hadn't meant any of it, truly. It had just hurt so damn bad when she said she hated him like that. She probably meant it, too, unlike him. She certainly LOOKED like she had. He'd never seen so much anger in those golden eyes of hers, blazing up at him from her shorter, more slender, frame, as she shouted that she hated him more than anything.

She'd never looked more beautiful.

It had been all he could do not to just take her in his arms and kiss her deeply. But of course that would not do. He'd rather face off against that Natay Hordika person that Vakama had spoken of many times than go near Gali when she was THAT angry.

"Dammit..." he muttered, feeling tears in his eyes, but he refused to let them out. Tears were a sign of pain. Pain was a sign of weakness. Weakness was a sign of incompetence.

_I really miss your hair in my face   
And the way your innocence tastes   
And I think you should know this   
You deserve much better than me..._

All the times they'd had together were coming back to him now. Meeting her for the first time, going on a mission together, saving her from the Tarakava, protecting her at almost all times...

...saving her from a Lehvak that was sneaking up on her, helping with her traps for Bohrok, facing off against Cahdok and Gahdok and standing in front of the waves of heat for her...becoming Nuva...

...their symbols being stolen, going after the Pahrak Kal that had DARED to hurt her so badly, helping her and Kopaka with their trap, going against the Rahi Nui along with Vakama...

...her healing him when he was poisoned and maddened by the Rahkshi...

"I need air." he muttered, slamming the door open again, and staggering outside, making his way to the beach about a half mile from his hut.

"_Kopaka's gotten really strong, hasn't he?"_

The fire from the volcano was beautiful.

"_I'm really proud of him - he's really become a great fighter and teammate."_

Red, swirling red, bright red lava chunks flying in the air.

"_I love watching him fight. It's amazing how fast he takes down enemies. A lot faster than _I _do, in any case."_

Crimson rivers winding down the volcano's face, like...

"_It'd be funny to see if he were in love with anyone, though, wouldn't it?"_

Just like tears.

_While looking through your old box of notes  
I found those pictures I took   
That you were looking for   
If there's one memory I don't want to lose   
That time at the mall   
You and me in the dressing room..._

"_I don't care about Kopaka."_

It didn't hurt.

"_There's someone I've had my eye on for a while now."_

It didn't hurt at all.

"_She's beautiful, smart, wise, and graceful, not to mention all around perfect."_

There was no way it did.

"_I really love her a lot."_

It couldn't.

"_Really? Who is it?"_

It...

"_..."_

Didn't...

"_...Tahu?"_

Hurt.

"_...it's Hahli."_

_I told myself I won't miss you   
But I remembered   
What it feels like beside you..._

If he were to throw himself in the ocean and drown, would anyone miss him? Anyone at all? Perhaps Vakama would, the Turaga was practically his father, after all...maybe Jaller and Takanuva...

The Toa wouldn't, though. They were used to losing things that were dear to them by now. The loss of their leader wouldn't be too much to bear. After all, Takanuva had lost his best friend. They'd almost lost him before, as well...during the Rahkshi fight.

Tahu felt something scrape against his arm, and lifted it to his eyes. Hm. It seemed his sword had scraped him, giving him a cut on the arm in the process. It had felt really, really...good.

_It doesn't hurt._

Tentatively, he brushed his arm down again, feeling the blade cut a little deeper this time. There was that feeling again, of relieving...nonexistent pain. It didn't hurt, remember?

"_Well, you can take that crush and jump off a cliff with it!"_

He wasn't crying.

"_I hate you, Tahu! I really, really hate you! More than Makuta, more than Rahkshi, more than bugs, more than ANYTHING!"_

Those weren't tears.

"_Just leave me alone!"_

This was nothing.

"_I...I never wanna see you again!"_

Really, it wasn't.

_I really miss your hair in my face   
And the way your innocence tastes   
And I think you should know this   
You deserve much better than me..._

He didn't love her.

"_Why are you yelling at me, wench? What did I do THIS time, huh?! Why are you always getting so mad at me?!"_

He didn't love her any more than it hurt.

"_You can do better than me, so go get Kopaka already and tell him how much you love him. Or would you like me to do it FOR you?"_

And it didn't hurt at all.

"_Don't you dare! I can do it myself."_

Not at all.

"_That's GREAT, cuz guess what?"_

No...

"_I FREAKIN' HATE YOU TOO!"_

The sword's blade cut deep into his arm. Tahu gasped, feeling his body fluids sliding down his left arm in a torrent. It made all the nonexistent pain go away, making him lightheaded. He smiled, feeling a single tear make its way down his cheek. The ocean was red as well, from the lava from the volcano and the Great Furnace.

_The bed I'm lying in is getting colder   
Wish I never would've said it's over   
And I can't pretend  I won't think about you when I'm older   
Cuz we never really had our closure   
This can't be the end..._

"I can't believe him!"

Stupid voices in his head, wouldn't leave him the hell alone so he could be miserable in peace already...

"He is SUCH a prick!"

Wait, that wasn't in his head, now was it?

"I hate him!"

Well, no need to guess who that was. He felt his heart breaking even more as she continued on, walking in a circle on the beach, still ranting wildly.

"I come here to find him, and he's gone! Great! NOW what am I supposed to do?! No one knows where the idiot is!"

Why the heck was she looking for HIM? Hadn't she gone off in search of her beloved Kopaka after their little fight, for some comfort? He felt a small smile break over his face as he watched her. She was so beautiful when she was angry...

"MATA NUI, TAHU, IF YOU DON'T COME OUT NOW AND LET ME APOLOGIZE, I'LL KILL YOU!"

Great, now she was yelling again - whoa, wait a minute! APOLOGIZE? To HIM? What was WRONG with her? She would NEVER apologize to him! She was too damn stubborn to even consider doing such a thing! It was just not going to happen. He had to be dreaming.

Gali fell to her knees, and he was shocked to see that tears were running down her face like rivers. She was sobbing hard, her shoulders shaking as she wrapped her arms around herself. She was probably really cold. Before he could stop himself, he found himself going to her.

"Stupid Tahu!" she vociferated. "He's probably gone off and hurt himself again...I'm so stupid...I'm sorry..."

He couldn't take it anymore. Just because he wasn't hurt didn't mean she hadn't been. He grabbed her and spun her around, reveling in her shocked eyes as he pressed his mouth against hers forcefully. She stiffened against him, trapped by the arms around her body, and made a small sound of shock in her throat. Tahu broke apart from her, and held her to his chest.

"You're crying again..." he growled.

"No I'm not." she muttered, and he could feel her reaching up to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I don't cry."

"Liar." he snarled, surprised by the vehemence in his own voice. "Then what are those on your cheeks? Rain?"

"You kissed me." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "You kissed me without my permission."

_I really miss your hair in my face   
And the way your innocence tastes   
And I think you should know this   
You deserve much better than me..._

"...I did."

"You can't do that."

He raised a brow and held her at arm's length. "Why not?"

"You don't..." She looked down at his arm. "Tahu! What the hell did you DO?!"

"It's nothing," he answered gruffly, hiding his arm from her. Truthfully, what a stupid idea, cutting himself on his own blade! Jeez, what a weakling. Only cowards who needed a way out did that stuff. He was no coward, he needed no way out.

Because it didn't hurt.

"Tell me why I can't kiss you." he said, pressing his forehead to hers and closing his eyes, feeling his heart give a twinge. "Tell me what Great Being proclaimed it blasphemy for me to kiss you."

"You don't love me." Her voice was small, and she gave another sob as she said this. "You don't love me, so I won't let you kiss me."

He kissed her again, just to prove her wrong. "Well, I say I'm allowed to kiss you whenever I want, Gali. Now, what do you want here? I thought you were going to see _Kopaka_."

"No." she mumbled, trembling. "I wasn't going to anyway. I just wanted to see what you thought."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tahu demanded. "Wanted to see what I thought? You wanna know what I think, Gali? I think that you're too good for that ice cube. And you know what else? I don't care who you think you're so in love with."

Her eyes widened in shock as his lips crushed to hers again, this time in a fierce kiss.

"YOU are MINE." Tahu snarled, before claiming her lips again. "He can't have you, because you're MINE."

_I really miss your hair in my face   
And the way your innocence tastes   
And I think you should know this   
You deserve much better than me..._

Gali pulled away forcefully, using her hands to keep him from kissing her again. "But...you like Hahli..." His face darkened, and she looked confused. "Did I...Did my words hurt you, Tahu?"

NO. That stupid question of whether he was in pain or not again! Mata Nui, it didn't hurt! But the look in her eyes...he couldn't stop himself.

"Yes." burst out of him before he knew what was happening. Gali looked even more hurt and confused. "But...you and Hahli..."

"MATA NUI!" he shouted, but still didn't let go of her. She tried to back away, but he didn't let her. "I don't love Hahli! Are you so stupid that you don't notice who I was describing? Hahli's not wise, or smart, or beautiful, or kind or graceful, at least not like you are!"

CRAP. He'd just yelled without thinking again! Now what was she going to do? Kick him? Hurt him physically? Laugh at him?

Break his heart even more?

"Kopaka's not the one I was really talking about either, Tahu." she murmured, leaning her head against his shoulder. He blinked in shock. "He's...not?"

"No." she replied, looking up into his eyes. "The one I was talking about is holding me right now." Her eyes narrowed. "And I don't care who YOU think YOU'RE in love with - you're mine as well." She jumped into his arms and knocked him onto his back, her lips on his again. He just laid there for a minute, in complete shock, while Gali kissed him. Then his arms slipped around her, and turned her over so that he was now on top. They didn't break apart that entire time. He pinned her wrists to the sand with his hands, still kissing her hard.

"You can do better than me, you know," he whispered, breaking away from her and holding himself up with his arms. "You can have anyone else."

"I don't want anyone else," Gali said, her arms going around his neck and bring him back down to her. "I can do better, but I'm not. Deal with it."

He smiled and kissed her hard, feeling his shattered heart becoming one again.

_And I think you should know this   
You can do so much better than me..._

X x X

**AN: Written in an hour! And...once again, it's one AM. God, I have no discipline whatsoever. I told myself I'd go to bed before twelve tonight, and see how I start. Damn plot bunnies. Damn Zanda Waffle and his fic-inspiring music :P**

**Reviews for an insomniac?**


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